Eight New Teachers At B-H

Britton-Hecla school kicked off on August 23. This fall, there are a few new faces around the B-H District. Eight new educators were welcomed this year. The teachers answered a few questions to help the community get to know them.

Billie Treeby

Billie Treeby is originally from Menoken, North Dakota. She will be teaching first grade at Britton-Hecla this year.

She graduated with a degree in Elementary Education from Black Hills State University. She has spent the last five years teaching second grade at North Sargent School in Gwinner.

Treeby says her goal this year as a teacher is to build relationships with students and help guide them to success.

Her husband is Wyatt and in her free time, Treeby enjoys rodeo.

Chantel Duerre

Chantel Duerre grew up in Wallace, SD and went to Florence High School. She will be teaching Middle School Special Education at B-H this year.

She studied K-12 Special Education at Black Hills State University. Regarding her past teaching experience, she taught one year at Langford as the Middle School Special Ed teacher. This year, she hopes to help students become successful functioning members of the community.

Duerre married her husband, Nathan in February 2021. Her daughter Cicily is 7 months old.

Her family is active in Day County 4H. They also love to spend time outside with their cattle and ride horse. Duerre enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Carly Peters Carly Peters is a transplant to the Britton area and originally from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. She will be teaching Junior High Social Studies/ Elementary Title.

Peters earned a degree in Elementary Education/ Secondary Education from Minnesota State University, Moorhead.

When she first moved to the area, Peters was a para at the Langford School. After that she subbed for a few years in the Britton-Hecla school system. Prior to that, she was a head teacher at the YMCA in Fargo.

“My goal is to provide a comfortable and positive learning environment for my students,” emphasized Peters. “I would like my classroom to feel more like a team with one common goal, which is not only to succeed in school, but to develop the tools and skills necessary to succeed in life!”

Carly and her husband Jameson have three boys, Cullen (4th grade), Brennon (1st grade) and Merrik (preschool). They also have a springer spaniel named Leyla. Peters also enjoys camping, watching movies, and spending time with family and friends.

Hailey Stiegelmeier

Hailey Stiegelmeier is a Britton native and graduated from Britton-Hecla High School in 2015. This year, she is teaching 6th grade Science and Title Interventions.

Stiegelmeier graduated from Northern State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2019.

After graduation, she subbed in the B-H district and took a para position in 2020. Last year, she taught 4th -6th grade Language Arts in Milnor.

“I think that it is very important to establish relationships with all the students I teach,” said Stiegelmeier. “Establishing relationships and establishing trust between all my students and I is at the top of my priority list for this year.”

She is happy to be able to work alongside her mother-in-law, Ann, and regularly see her niece, Izabella, who is a first grader.

Stiegelmeier’s hobbies include reading, coloring, listening to music and attending.

Kassie Roehr

Kassie Roehr is originally from Mankato, MN. She finds herself in the Britton area after meeting her husband, Tanner Roehr, in college at SDSU. The pair moved to town in 2018.

Roehr will be teaching fifth grade. She has a degree from Grand Canyon University with a Bachelor of Science in Education. She was a first year teacher last year and taught fourth grade in Sisseton.

Her goal is to make her students feel welcomed and encourage a fun/safe learning environment.

Her husband Tanner works construction with his father Randy Roehr. They have a 2 ½ year old son named Cohen plus several nieces and nephews.

Roehr loves playing volleyball, baking, traveling, and shopping in her free time. She also enjoys spending time with family at their cabin in Sauk Centre, MN.

Morgan Erickson

Morgan Erickson, a Britton native, will soon be starting her first year teaching. She will be teaching first, second and third grade at Westwood Colony.

Through Northern State University, Erickson obtained a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Early Childhood Education.

She previously has worked as a paraprofessional at the Britton-Hecla district.

“I am just so excited to get started and begin my teaching career in the same district where I spent my elementary and high school educational years,” said Erickson. “I had a lot of great teachers growing up and I look up to all of them. My main goal is to encourage and challenge students to be the best versions of themselves, educationally, emotionally, and just in general, I hope to inspire them to be kind and considerate human beings.”

Jenni Deutsch

Jenni Deutsch, a Britton native, will be providing speech/language therapy services for ages 3-21. Her job involves conducting comprehensive evaluations for ages birth to 21 in the area of potential communication disorders, including interpreting results and making professional recommendations.

Deutsch has a Bachelor’s of Science in Communication Disorders from Northern State University and a Masters of Art in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of South Dakota, along with maintaining national certification for clinical competence annually.

She has worked in several local schools as part of the North Central Special Education Cooperative, but had been in Langford as their school speech therapist for 22 years and Groton Area School for the past eight years in addition to Langford Area School. “I was on the Autism evaluation team for my cooperative traveling to multiple schools to assist in conducting autism assessments and helping make diagnoses and recommendations,” Deutsch added. “My goal is to actively serve the needs of the students at Britton-Hecla School, with expertise, compassion and understanding, by providing skilled therapy services necessary to bridge the gap between ineffective and effective communication so students may use optimal communication skills,” said Deutsch.

She has been married to her husband Billy for 27 years. The pair have two sons Carter, 23, and Brennan, 20. Deutsch enjoys going to scary movies, walking, and riding on her Vikings golf cart with her dogs.

Sara J. Jensen

Sara J. Jensen, originally from Britton, will be teaching FACS (Family and Consumer Science) at B-H this year. Some of the classes offered in that program this year include Fashion Design, Interior Design, Nutrition & Wellness and Human Development. Jensen will teach both middle and high school.

Jensen has bachelor’s degrees in Child Development from NDSU and Elementary Education from Moorhead State University.

She previously owned and operated Lucky Ducky Day Care and Preschool here in Britton. She was also an Infant and Toddler Training Specialist for Early Childhood Partners in Aberdeen, providing education and mentoring for parents and day care providers. For the last 9 years, Jensen was the kindergarten teacher in Langford.

“My main goal as an educator has always been to encourage students to believe they have worth and are valuable,” stressed Jensen. “I look forward to teaching and discovering what my new students will have to offer me and others around them. I think my favorite part of education has been when I have seen students learn to value what their classmates can offer.”

Jensen has three daughters: Katie, a freshman at NDSU, and Emily and Anne will be juniors at B-H.